Boston study of acupuncture and children

In a study conducted at Children’s Hospital in Boston, and published in Pediatrics (Volume 105(4) supplement of April 2000), 70% of children who had acupuncture felt the treatment had helped their symptoms. Fifty-nine percent of patients’ parents agreed that acupuncture had helped with symptoms. Only one of the 30 children who responded directly to the study’s interviewers said the treatment made symptoms worse. Two-thirds of children rated the therapy as pleasant.

For example, one 17-year-old girl, diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, endometriosis and headache, said, “Acupuncture was not painful, and was very relaxing.” Another 17-year-old girl, who had endometriosis, said, “It definitely helped the pain. It really works and is not painful, and it brought my energy back.” And a 17-year-old boy with pain and nerve problems remarked, “It helped the pain. I tried a lot of treatments. This was the last resort, but the best. I wish I had tried it first.”

Almost 80% of study participants were female and almost all were white. Of the 47 initially contacted for the study, 15 children were age 12 or under when treated and 32 were 13-20 years old. The most frequent diagnoses were migraine headaches, endometriosis and reflex sympathetic dystrophy (a chronic syndrome in which pain continues in an area after an injury). The median number of acupuncture treatments (the level at which there were the same number of patients above and below) was eight. Most patients completed treatment within three months.

Since many children are afraid of needles, acupuncture is not commonly offered for children under 7. However, children over the age of 7 are treated with acupuncture. Children under age 7 can receive acupressure or Chinese massage known as Tui Na and herbal extracts.